Can I take a tax deduction for this gift?

Question

My mom has had a difficult time with her joints. She had a hip replaced and it didn't heal. She had to have both hips taken out due to infection. She is now scheduled to have the prosthetic hips put in. Because of all she has been through, she has lots of joint pain. My husband and I paid for a jetted tub to be put in her house to help her. Can I take out any kind of tax deductions for this gift? It was about $7,000.00. Any help would be great! Thanks.

Answer 1

You can tax medical deductions you paid for your mother if

1. She was your dependent at the time the expenses were incurred or paid. She could be your dependent under a multiple support agreement, you would not have to have paid over half of her support.

OR

2. She would have been your dependent but either the gross income test (less than $3,400 of gross income) or joint return test (she files a joint return with her spouse) fails.

If you are not able to take the deduction, but your mother files a tax return, you could give her the money for the tub and have her pay for it, and then she could deduct it.

Answer 2

No, a gift to a specific person, parent or not, can't qualify as a deductible item.

From your description, the jetted tub would probably not qualify as a medical expense even if your mother is your dependent. There could be circumstances, though, where it could.

It was good of you to do this for her, though.

Answer 3

If you are covering more than half of your mom's living expenses overall, you may be able to claim her as a dependent and claim her medical expenses as an itemized deduction. She doesn't have to live with you to qualify.

The itemized deduction for medical expenses are those over 7.5% of adjusted gross income, so it may not qualify regardless. Best of luck to you.

Answer 4

Sadly, you can't take it as a medical deduction either unless your mother is a qualified dependent of yours.You cannot deduct medical expenses for others.

Of course, it was wonderful of you to do that for her, but I don't think there is a way you can write this one off.

Answer 5

You can try deducting it as a medical expense but it has to be over 1.5% of your income. (that is ALL your Medical Deductions).
You can't take it as a contribution to charity deduction.
Check with the IRS ~ you can ask questions on their website and they will answer you.